All about Hardy
A little Hardy history for you….in 1874 the brothers William Hardy and John James Hardy started “Hardy Brothers” with the purchase of “Superior River and Sea Fishing Tackle” in Alnwick, Northumberland, England.
They patented and launched the “Perfect” fishing reel in 1891 – it was a huge success and they received a royal warrant from King George V. They went on to develop numerous fishing reels featuring innovations like a full bail arm, and competition-winning long-distance casting reels.
Considered the collectors dream, early Hardy Perfect reels can command very high prices, one selling for £42000 ( hammer price) in 2015 at Angling Auctions in London. In 1897 Hardy opened a shop in London’s Pall Mall that led to international expansion of their fishing rods, lures and guides, still made by hand in England. In 1967 Hardy Brothers was bought out by the Harris and Sheldon group, and in 1985 renamed the “House of Hardy Limited.” It was later merged with a former Hardy employee’s fishing company and renamed “Hardy and Greys Limited” in 2004, which was sold to Pure Fishing in 2013. In 2013 the company Hardy & Greys was sold to Pure Fishing, a division of conglomerate Jarden Corporation, later renamed Newell Brands. Newell sold Pure Fishing to Sycamore Partners in 2018.
If you’d like to know more, we highly recommend watching the 2008 documentary, “The Lost World of Mr. Hardy.”
We are huge fans of Hardy fishing tackle and the brand is one of our favourite topics to blog about. Below is a selection of our articles about Hardy – do come back regularly as we are always adding new content.
